Ironing machines



Dec. 2, 1958 e. l. FREDHOLM ,IRONING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 11, 1955 F/G. 22H

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Dec. 2, 1958 s. 1. FREDHOLM IRONING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 11, 1955 I l/I/I/lll/ll if i i: 1 II I A United States Patent IRONING MACHINES Gunnar Ivar Fredholm, Bromma, Sweden Application July 11, 1955, Serial No. 521,297 Claims priority, application Sweden April 19, 1955 3 Claims. (Cl. 38-2) The present invention relates to flat work ironers and particularly to a heating device for the rotatable roll of ironing machines in which the roll comprises an inner supporting perforated shell surrounded by an outer textile fabric pad engaging the heated surface of the chest or bed. In machines of this type the material to be ironed is fed in between the roll and the chest and the moisture in the material vaporizes and is absorbed by the pad of the roll.

In order to remove the moisture from the pad the roll is evacuated so that air flows through the pad and through the perforations of the shell into the interior of the roll. A relatively high cooling of the pad can under such circumstances not be avoided. The air flow through the pad is, however, limited to the exposed part of the roll. About one third of the padding is in engagement with the chest during the rotation of the roll and the temperature is lowered rapidly at a certain point of the pad when leaving the chest so that the part of the pad which moves into engagement with the material to be ironed is cooled. Besides the heat necessary for vaporizing of the moisture in the material heat is needed for simultaneously raising the temperature of the padding.

That means that the drying effect of the machine is reduced correspondingly since the heat transfer from the chest is limited. Attempts have been made in order to remove this disadvantage. Among others heat has supplied to the padding by radiation. Thorough experiments have, however, shown that this system merely involves inconsidera'ble improvements which are not proportionate to the consumption of energy.

It is an obvious desideratum to maintain the pad at high temperature and in dry condition particularly with reference to that zone of the padding which, during the rotation of the roll, is about to engage the material to be.

ironed.

An object of the invention is to provide a heating device comprising a heated surface arranged in engagement with the roll in the neighborhood of the feeding in opening between the roll and the chest in order to heat the pad before it engages the material to be ironed.

Other features of the invention will be brought out in the following description, drawings and claims.

In? the embodiments set forth in the drawings, 7

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic front view of an ironing machine,

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a front view partly in section and partly in elevation and with parts broken away illustrating on an enlarged scale a modified form of heating device for association with the ironing roll, and

Figure 4 is .a cross sectional view taken along lines 44 of Figure 3.

The embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2 illustrate an ironing roll 1 mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis an arranged to press against an ironing shoe 2 constituting the upper part of the bed or chest 3. The chest 3 is heated in a known manner, such as by means 2,862,317 Patented Dec. 2, 1958 of steam so that the ironing shoe 2 is maintained at a according to the example hollow and its cylindrical perforated shell 4 is provided with an outer textile fabric pad 6. The end walls 5 of the shell are connected with hub sleeves 7, one of which communicates with an evacuating arrangement including a fan 8. The other hub sleeve 7 is in driving connection with members adapted to rotate the roll. The material to be ironed is fed to the machine at a place designated at 9 in Figure 2 that is between the shoe 2 and the roll 1 whereafter the material is pushed over the ironing shoe 2 by the moving roll and delivered at a place designated at 9'. The moisture in the material being ironed vaporizes and is absorbed by the pad 6. The fan 8 sucks air in through the exposed part of the pad and the perforations in the shell for exhaust from the roll through the one hub sleeve 7.

In order to heat the pad 6 at the moment just before it contacts the moist material a heating shoe 10 is arranged adjacent the inlet end 9 of shoe 2 for engagement with the pad. This heatin'g shoe 10 is provided with a cylindrical heat transfer surface 11 to be in intimate contact with the pad 6. According to the example shown the heating shoe 10 is heated by means of steam. Eventually the moist air evacuated from the roll can be used for heating the shoe 10.

The heat transfer or heating surface 11 is constituted by the face of a plate 12 that forms one wall of a chamber, projecting away from the other face of wall 12 and to end walls 14 and 15 and an outer or top wall 13. ()ne of the end walls 14, is provided with a fitting shown at I 16, to which is connected a flexible conduit 17, that in pins 22 are in alignment with each other, and extend parallel to the axis of the ironing roll. Thus the heating shoe 10 can be swung about the pins 20 and it is also swingable about the pins 22. These last named pins are arranged in such a manner that the heating shoe is maintained in engagement with the pad due to the weight of the shoe so that the heat transfer surface 11 is always positioned in intimate contact with the pad 6 while exerting uniform pressure both in the vertical and horizontal directions. The mounting of heating shoe 10 permits the roll 1 to be lifted out of engagement with the chest without dismounting the shoe 10. By means of the heating shoe 10 the pad 6 is heated to such a degree that is suitable for effective ironing. Due to the fact that the heat transfer surface 11 is maintained in intimatecontact with the pad 6 the air is forced to flow through the pad under lying this surface and thus the raising of the temperature of the pad occurs more rapidly than if heat were supplied to the pad solely by radiation. The pad 6 engages the moist material to be ironed at a substantially elevated temperature thus resulting in a more rapid vaporization than heretofore because the heat from the chest is to a lesser degree required for heating the pad.

In the event the material being ironed is of high humidity, it is desirable to supply heated drying air to the roll, with the air flowing through the pad from the exterior thereof. The heated air may be supplied throughout different longitudinal zones on the roll. According to the example shown'the roll is supplied with heated air in combination with the contact heat transfer from the heating shoe 10, the heated air being sucked in through the pad by means of the existing evacuating device.

For the purpose mentioned the heating shoe 11B is, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, provided with a conduit coil 25 heated by the heating means for the shoe, in the example shown, the steam passing through the shoe; The inlet end of coil 25 is shown at26 and is disposed on the front wall 13 of shoe adjacent one end thereof. The conduit extends from the inlet longitudinally of the shoe toward the end adjacent the steam inlet, is then curved toward the center of the shoe and communicates with a manifold conduit 27. This manifold conduit 27 extends along the center of the shoe to terminate adjacent the inlet 26 and is of decreasing cross sectional area. Branch conduits 28 arranged in pairs and extending from opposite sides of the manifold conduit 27 have curved ends terminating in communication with perforations passing through heating surface 11 and communicating with the base of spaced parallel grooves 29 extending longitudinally of heating surface 11. Due to the low atmospheric pressure in the interior of the roll, the air is sucked in through inlet 26 to pass through coil portion 25, manifold 27 and conduits 28 wherein it picks up heat from the steam in the heating shoe and is discharged into grooves 29 for distribution over laterally spaced longitudinal zones of the pad. By aid of such a heating device the pad is concurrently supplied with contact heat and heated air repeatedly. According to the invention no separate heating device is necessary for heating the drying air and no additional means are required for the transport of the drying air.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In an ironing machine, an ironing bed, a rotatable ironing roll for cooperation with said bed, including a perforated shell and a cylindrical air permeable ironing pad surrounding said shell, one end of said bed constituting an inlet end where material to be ironed is fed beween the bed and the pad, a heating shoe havingja cylindrical heating surface and means mounting said shoe for yieldable engagement with said pad adjacent said inlet end of the bed, said heating surface having openings therein directed toward the pad, conduit means including an air inlet and air outlets communicating with said openings for supplying air to said pad through the openings in said surface as the pad moves beneath said surface, means for heating said conduit means so as to heat air flowing therethrough and evacuating means communicating with the interior of the roll to establish air flow through the pad and perforations in the shell and also to establish a flow of heated air through the conduit means, the openings in said heating surface, the portion of said pad passing adjacent said surface and the underlying perforations in the shell.

2. In an ironing machine, an ironing bed, a rotatable ironin'g roll for cooperation with said bed including a 4 perforated shell and a cylindrical air permeable ironing pad surrounding said shell, one end of said bed constituting an inlet end where material to be ironed is fed between the bed and the pad, a heating shoe having a cylindrical heating surface, means mounting said shoe for yieldable engagement with said pad adjacent said inlet end of the bed, said heating surface having openings therein directed toward the pad, conduit means in'cluding an air inlet and air outlets communicating with said openings for supplying air to said pad through said openings in said surface as the pad moves to be adjacent the inlet end of the bed, means for heating said conduit means so as to heat air flowin'g therethrough, evacuating means communicating with the interior of the roll to establish air flow through the pad and perforations in the shell and also to establish a flow of heated air through the conduit means, the openings in said heating surface, the portion of said pad passing adjacent said surface and the underlying perforations in the shell, and said heating surface having grooves in the face thereof adjacent said pad, said grooves extending longitudinally of the axis of the roll and being spaced apart in the direction transversely of said axis and the openings in the heating surface communicating with said grooves.

3. In an ironing machine, an ironing bed, a rotatable ironing roll for cooperation with said bed in'cluding a perforated shell and a cylindrical air permeable ironing pad surrounding said shell, one end of said bed constituting an inlet end where material to be ironed is fed between the bed and the pad, a heating shoe having a cylindrical heating surface, means mounting said shoe for yieldable engagement with said pad adjacent said inlet en'd of the bed, said heating surface having openings therein directed toward the pad, conduit means including an air inlet and air outlets communicating with said openings for supplying air to said pad through said openings in said surface as the pad moves to be adjacent the inlet end of the bed, means for heating said conduit means so as to heat air flowing therethrough, evacuating means communicating with the interior of the roll to establish air flow through the pad and perforations in the shell and also to establish a flow of heated air through the conduit means, the openings in said heating surface, the portion of said pad passing adjacent said surface and the underlying perforations in the shell, and said heating shoe comprising wall means including said heating surface defining a chamber, steam inlet and outlet means communicating with said chamber, said conduit means being arranged within the chamber with the air inlet in communication with the exterior of the chamber and the said outlets communicating with the openings in said heating surface whereby steam in the chamber heats air in the conduit means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 411,143 Gessner Sept. 17, 1889 1,641,137 Geldhof Aug. 30, 1927 1,757,344 Stoffel May 6, 1930 2,336,727 Ferris Dec. 14, 1943 

